At a talk I was asked to give recently about my 20 years in India, someone asked me what was the best thing I had witnessed and what was it that kept me here. Without hesitation I replied, ‘The people.’ Despite on my first couple of visits, having been embarrassed about being British and…

“A month long course!” They exclaimed, “but why go all the way to Landour, why not do it in Delhi?” Hmm, well let’s see shall we…….. In Delhi the temps are currently 39C, in Landour it’s 18C. In Delhi one is surrounded by buildings, here, the hills. In Delhi the air is of dubious quality,…

Around 13 years ago, over breakfast at the Malabar House Hotel in Cochin I was introduced to one of the most extraordinary, fascinating and yet unassuming men it has ever been my privilege to meet, Anderson Bakewell. He had just spent three years living like a local in Mandvi, Gujarat, building a 120ft sailing dhow,…

There is a new India emerging. I noticed the change when I came back 20 months ago. There are now opportunities that didn’t exist 15 or even 10 years ago. For this reason, I love this time of year. It starts with the Jaipur Lit Fest, now in its 10th year. Invariably excellent speakers, interesting…

Well it’s taken six months after being reunited to finally get her back into road worthy condition but we made it! The Babe and I taking Delhi by storm. Of course my driving technique needs to be refind to suit local conditions. 1. At a local T junction: Do not slow down on approach, stop,…

I am not sure entirely, or really even partially, at what point I fell in love with India. I am still not sure I can put a finger on exactly why I did either. It is a place where I do feel more at home than anywhere else, which is strange as I have…

One can never fail but to be humbled by the hospitality of India’s rural population. Having recently been in Jaisalmer, exploring and inventing new sightsseeing options, I had one morning, got up at 0600 to drag myself around several monuments in 38C, before the day truly heated up. Chuntering incessantly about the heat, huffing and puffing…

‘’You can’t eat a mango politely, not if you really want to savour it.’’ This was one of my first lessons in Indian cuisine, from my host, a culinary guru as we sat slurping and sucking as mango juice ran down our arms and landed on the table. I had arrived in India for a…

Loved this, evocative yet succinct post…. “Our trip to Singinawa was not something that we had been planning for long. It was the call of the wild for my husband and the right amount of nagging and cribbing by me that made this trip possible. On a Friday evening we took the overnight train to Jabalpur….”…

Not sure Lucknow or maybe India fully gets Valentines day. Here I am in a restaurant in the newest ”in” place in town. The decor is classic Indian style, tacky overkill with thousands of heart shaped balloons taped to walls, strapped to chairs and dangling from ceiling lights. Mind you, with those descriptions and what…

Philippa Kaye

I live in India but originate from Yorkshire. Two completely different worlds. My heart lies in India, my family live in Yorkshire, I juggle the two. I have lived in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh, the concrete jungle of Delhi and the city of Jaipur.
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